When his mask cracks Novels & Stories

amused. Then he did something unexpected. He reached up, gripping the edge of his mask, and tore it off. The face beneath was young—mid-twenties, maybe—but hard, sharpened by experience and war. His skin was pale beneath the dim lights of the hallway, his cheekbones sharp, and his lips curved into a smirk that didn’t reach his cold, glowing eyes.

Ruby's gaze was glued to the screen, her body shaking as if she had seen a ghost. "You don't have to sign," I said, my voice a chilling whisper. "But if you don't, this unedited, crystal-clear video will be tomorrow's sensation, plastered over every news site. I'll even send a copy to your parents, all your relatives, friends, and colleagues. "Think you'll see a dime of that settlement then? Think you'll have the dignity to walk this earth?"

“Voices? No. That was me. Saw a rat run in there. Tried to kill it.” I cross my arms. “With what? Your lungs? Because from the sound of your breathing, you’ve been chasing that rat for hours.” His jaw twitches, and for a second, the mask almost cracks. Then he exhales, shaking his head like I’m ridiculous. “Ha. Cute." “learnt from the best.” That earns me a short laugh. But it’s hollow. It doesn’t reach his eyes. He leans against the doorframe, shifting the focus. “So. What do you want?”

I saw his chest rise and fall as he took a few shuddering breaths and his face was ashy white. “Who told you that I would be satisfied with something like that? Who said that I would accept such a thing as a payment for something I have done to you? Who gave you the right to say such a thing? Who told you that I would appreciate such a thing, Misha?” He said, and his voice cracked at the last sentence, and suddenly his mask crumbled. I felt tears fill my eyes, and I opened my arms to him and he threw his body at mine and he covered me from head to toe.

“I can’t.” “What do you mean you can’t?” His voice started to show a hint of his frustration, his mask completely down- showcasing the tender hurting male underneath. Then he quickly inhaled. “Is it someone else? Am I... Am I too late?” His voice turned to a whisper near the end, his soul visibly shattered before me.

I will make him feel like the luckiest man in the world, right before I pull the rug out from under his feet. ​Now it is time for me to take off this mask. Not by tearing it off, but by letting it crumble on its own, revealing my true face, which is full of the fire of vengeance. Mike thinks he has mastered my life. He thinks he can mold me according to his desires. However, he forgot one thing: when you press something too hard, it will not break—it will explode.

No matter how well he wore his masks, there were always cracks. And if I paid close enough attention, I could see them. A heartbeat of silence passed between us. Then, he exhaled, his lips curling into something reassuring. "It wasn't an accident."

The marble beneath our feet cracked from the combined force. “Too slow,” I hissed, kicking his knee. It bent with a crack, sending him sprawling. He grabbed my leg, trying to drag me down, but I twisted, my boot slamming into his mask. It broke in half, scattering across the floor. Blood poured down his lip. His eyes, crazed, furious, flashed gold. “I’ll kill you—” he roared.

“If he bolts, he bolts toward Clara.” He didn’t bolt. He collapsed like a sentence losing its verb. I caught him because if I didn’t, the storm would. He was lighter than he should have been and too warm. His skin carried the smell of cheap oil and cheaper electricity. The ash eye did not smear when the rain hit it. “Who did this?” I asked, not because I expected an answer but because questions are ropes we throw in case someone remembers they want to be pulled back to a boat. He winced as if the memory had teeth and they were still in him. “Mask,” he said. “Voice like a man who learned to pray and forgot why.”

"We are having it right now." "No. You are going to walk out of this office and you are going to remember that you are the Luna. You are going to remember that I am the Alpha and you are going to remember that I do not explain my decisions to anyone." I stared at him. He stared back. Neither of us believed the words that just left his mouth, I could see it in his eyes. The mask was in place, but underneath it, something was cracking. Something he had been holding together for weeks.